A GANG of thugs viciously beat a Chester man who asked them to stop jumping on a neighbour’s car bonnet.

Nursing a broken cheekbone and severe bruising, the 39-year-old spoke to The Chronicle after listening to Jack Straw tell the Labour Conference how he planned to change the law to protect have-a-go heroes.

‘We heard a noise and there was a gang of youths outside. They were vandalising somebody’s car who has recently been extremely poorly.

‘I thought they would run away because of the alcohol – they didn’t. They had bottles in their hands and they weren’t just vandalising property – they were looking for a fight. I was the fight they were looking for.

‘I asked one of the young men if he would mind getting off the person’s car. He was underage so there was no way I was going to fight him, and I got the worst end of the stick.

‘I was petrified because he went to lift the beer bottle but he smashed it into the road, but then the other one cracked me across the head. I was bleeding from the head but it didn’t look that bad.

‘But when I came into the house and blew my nose, that’s when the whole side of my head blew up.

‘[When we were young] we had respect for our elders, but they don’t care these days and they know the law. With gangs of youths walking up and down beckoning people out to cause trouble, it’s not fair you can’t sit here with your curtains open.’

The incident happened on September 16 in Sealand Road and police are appealing for witnesses.

He also spoke about Justice Minister Jack Straw’s decision to review legal protection for people who defend their property, or use force in self defence.

‘I think you should have the right to defend your property, but after what’s happened I shouldn’t think it’s worth it. It’s wrong to encourage people to do it because so many people carry knives.

‘I had no intention of doing anything so I had no legal fears. I had been assaulted but because I was an adult the call was downgraded. If it went through that I had assaulted the 16-year-old they would have been here in two minutes – that’s what’s maddened me.

He believed it is good if people were legally protected when they defended their property but added: ‘But it’s like encouraging people to have a go. In all fairness you should be able to dial 999 and the police should have a go.’

The attack was almost a carbon copy of an incident that left father-of-three Garry Newlove dead last month. The Warrington man had gone out to confront youths who were throwing stones at a vehicle in his drive.

‘I didn’t think about Garry Newlove – that person [the neighbour] is unable to protect their own property and all I did was to ask [the youth] to move on.

‘When you’re in that situation you don’t think about past cases, just the property and ‘is it going to be my property next time’.

‘I wouldn’t do it again because I value my life more than I value property, and because of the Warrington case. My car isn’t worth my life. They could have had knives. I really should have thought if they had knives but it’s just what you do at the time.

‘My message to other people is it’s not worth it. Stay in. It’s not worth your life and you don’t know what people have taken.’

Detective Sergeant Barry Brown of Cheshire Police condemned the attack but said it was a ‘personal decision’ whether people go out to tackle nuisance gangs.

He said: ‘They need to decide and weigh up their capabilities to intervene.’

The group ran off towards Clifton Drive after the attack which happened opposite Rybrook Volvo dealership.

Police spokesman Glyn Hellam said: ‘This is the latest in a series of anti-social incidents. We want to work with local communities to fight the problem – the challenge remains.’

One attacker was 15 or 16, very slim with short, blond hair and a grey horizontal-striped hoodie.